Gripping read, better than I thought it would be.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc.
Tw:
I mostly enjoyed this, I liked the way it explored sexual assault from several perspectives and didn't act like it was okay just because it wasn't full on rape. My (megan) main criticism (lol) is that it just maybe went on a bit too long.

I did enjoy the dual timeline and how certain characters featured in both, however the main narrator irritated me too much to fully enjoy the book overall.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Books about consent have been done a lot post-#MeToo era and Scott does it very well.

In the late 90s, Ros is a university student obsessed with her social status. Her roommate Megan is very innocent and is the antithesis of how Ros wants to be seen. During an ice storm, Ros invites Megan out with her friends to a bar and during that time Megan goes missing. Ros was supposed to be Megan's buddy during the storm so she is essentially blamed.

Fast-forward twenty years later to the COVID pandemic and Ros is now married to children's author Lukas, who went by Dutch whilst they were at university. Megan has now come forward to state that on that night, she was sexually assaulted by Lukas.

The Damages opens a fantastic discussion surrounding consent and this book would be perfect for book clubs. It takes a look at how men and women both view consent and how women previously would put things down as living in liberal times. An interesting and thought-provoking read for sure.

This book started so strongly. The first section is set in 1997, Ros is in her first year in college, meeting new people, determined for a fresh start and willing to shape her personality to match those she wants to be friends with and partial to stretching the truth to fit it. An ice storm pauses real life and in the frozen days that follow, events occur that will cause shockwaves decades later.

The second section is set in 2020 during lockdown and the pace slows right down, the events that happened 20+ years ago are brought back and reexamined , the sexual politics and practices of the late 90s and those of the current day are vastly different and experiences from the past through a 2020 lens throw different perspectives.

I really liked the section of the book set in '97, the author captures that point in time with great accuracy, it brought me back and made me think and I liked elements of the second section, it was just a bit too slow for me. However, the strength of the writing and the exploration of the themes kept me interested.

A mixed read for me but the parts that were good, were excellent.

3-3/5 stars,

The book is touching and heartbreaking. Author takes us back to past where Megan and Rosalind were roommates back then. Megan was a little different from everyone at Regis University and Rosalind liked to get along with everyone. But at the end when Megan vanishes without telling anyone, grief engulfs her for leaving her alone and secrets from the past remain buried but after so many years, Megan files a report against Lucas for sexual assault and secrets from the past begins to unveil with a shocking truth.

So the book has many thought provoking conversations. It has the deepest conversation about intimacy and morals. I didn’t like the characters but the plot was so deep and thought provoking with an unsettling truth and secrets from the past reappearing on the surface.

Thanks to the Publisher and Author.

Set across two timelines The Damages follows Ros in 1997 at university and in 2020.

Back in the 90s her university roommate Megan vanishes one night and Ros is blamed by everyone. In 2020, her ex partner and father of her child is accused of sexual assault and she’s left looking back on her time at university and what really happened.

This was a strange one, it felt like two completely different books. The first half is set on campus and explores Megan’s disappearance and the second half is set in 2020 and follows Ros as her ex Lukas is accused of sexual assault. I just felt like the two halves didn’t quite mesh well together and the jump from part one to part two felt a bit jarring and ruined the flow for me. I think it would have worked better as a spilt time line that alternated in chapters.

It was an interesting concept and very timely but just didn’t work for me.

The Damages, by Canadian author Genevieve Scott, is a #MeToo novel and a compelling character study about a woman who grew up in the so-called liberal 90s, and who carries around a guilt from that time over an incident concerning her roommate.

The book opens in 1997, where Ros is a newly minted student at university in Canada and sharing a room with Megan. Eager to be perceived as cool and to fit in with the right crowd, Ros distances herself from Megan, who she considers a bit square. Ros faces the consequences of her actions (or inaction) in the aftermath of an epic ice storm when Megan goes missing. Years later, in 2020, Ros is a mother and is estranged from her son's father, a man she first met at university years prior, when Megan emerges from the woodwork with a sensational accusation. In an attempt to process the past and the guilt she cannot shake off, Ros explores her own complicity in an effort to reconcile the times with what she now knows.

I've seen this described as a propulsive thriller which I think is a bit misleading. This is more of an absorbing slow-burn but an interesting one, especially for those who came of age in the 1990s and look back at what things were like through the prism of today. Women were enjoying freedoms that our mothers did not, but our value and our place in the world was not assured. If you enjoyed #MeToo campus novels like Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You, or My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, then I think this is one you'll like too. 3.5.-4/5 stars

The Damages - Genevieve Scott 🎓

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book but felt the ending was a bit anticlimactic. This book dealt with so many important topic and it was really interesting to see all the characters different views.

Rosalind deals with her roommate Megan going missing from university in 1998 then later in life deals with the 'truth' of what actually happened coming to light.

The topic of consent in the 90's features in this book and I found it interesting to see how it was dealt with. I personally was born in 1998 so never experienced what it would have been like but this book really helps to imagine it.

Also contained in this book is the aspect of a missing person, Megan disappears from university one day and it is a mystery if and when she will be found.

I would recommend this book but make sure to check your trigger warnings before picking it up.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own*

#netgalley #TheDamages

I would received this ARC from NetGalley and Oldcastle Books | VERVE Books in exchange for a free and honest review.

The story follows the protagonist Rosalind at two different times in her life; in 1998, at university where her roommate Megan disappears after an ice storm and in 2020, during the COVID pandemic after her ex-partner has been accused of sexual assault. Rosalind as a teen was quite hard to read as she was very obtuse, narcissistic and insecure. The insecurity I could understand as she just wanted to fit in and be liked. However, her behaviour after her roommate disappeared was shameful. By the end of the book she had grown. Her ex-partner wasn't the best

I would recommend this book due to the discussions that it can generate, such as; how SA was seen during different times (#MeToo conversations), safety when inebriated and the need to talk to and educate your children.

Not quite what I was expecting. Felt pretty underwhelmed by this and just wasn’t gripping enough for me. Loved the cover. Thank you for the opportunity

I just reviewed The Damages by Genevieve Scott. #TheDamages #NetGalley

The Damages by Genevieve Scott is a story that plays out in two timescales, back in the 90s, on a University campus, living her best life, Ros is at a party with her best friend Megan, that is, until the worst ice storm of a decade rolls in and Megan goes missing. In the aftermath, Ros is alienated by college soceity, and her own guilt for not keeping tabs on Megan

Present day, 2020, 30 years later and Ros has an 11 year old son with Lukas, the guy that had her all starry eyed in college. However, he is accused of SA which causes Ros to look back at her past, things she left behind, and things she does not want to remember, but has no choice but to do so

Electrifying, compelling and rings so true of the experience of living in the 90s (I was 15 in 1990) This book is utterly relatable for the good and bad of the time, our restraints, our freedoms and our self-reliance, pushing trauma deep, deep down and plastering on that smile. A stunning piece of work

Thank you to Netgalley, Oldcastle Books | VERVE Books and the author Genevieve Scott for this highly thought provoking ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

Genevieve Scott's "The Damages" is a haunting and emotionally resonant exploration of trauma's enduring aftermath. Scott wields her pen with remarkable deftness, peeling back the layers of her characters' psyches to expose the raw vulnerabilities that linger beneath. Her profound insights into guilt, grief, and the human capacity for healing elevate this novel into a poignant meditation on life's cruelties. With lyrical prose and a masterful command of pacing, Scott deftly navigates complex emotional terrain, crafting a narrative that burrows under the skin and takes up permanent residence in the reader's consciousness. It's a gripping and cathartic triumph.

🌨️ REVIEW 🌨️

The Damages by Genevieve Scott
Publishing Date: 25th April

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📝 - In 1997, Ros is starting at Regis University, looking to reinvent herself, despite her uncool roommate Megan, tagging along with some of the cooler girls in her dorm. But when Megan disappears during a snowstorm, Ros is blamed and finds herself outcast. Over 20 years later, history begins to creep up on Ros, as her ex-partner Lukas is accused of sexual assault. Ros is forced to recount the days of that snowstorm, putting her and others’ actions under a microscope.

💭 - I’m not generally a fan of mystery type books, but I did have high hopes for this one after the first few chapters. While Ros, our narrator, is highly unlikeable and flawed, I was very interested in where the story would lead. However, as we moved into the present day, I didn’t quite understand the purpose of the book. I didn’t find there to be much character development from anyone (Ros remained as unlikable as ever) and the story didn’t really wrap up well. It felt like half the book was just a rambling on the perception of truth and experiential memory, which could have been interesting but for me didn’t hit the mark. Not one for me unfortunately…

An utterly compelling story of secrets, lies, trust, and perceptions of consent.

"What I remember best about that week in January is trying to keep track of all the lies I told."

SYNOPSIS

"1997. Ontario has been hit by a days-long, life-endangering ice storm, and on Regis University campus, with classes cancelled, the students are partying. In the midst of it all, eighteen-year-old Ros's roommate Megan goes missing. As a panicked search ensues, Ros is blamed for not keeping a closer eye on Megan, and the incident casts a shadow over the next two decades of her life.

2020. Ros's former partner, Lukas, the father of her eleven-year-old son, is accused of sexual assault. The accusation brings new details of an old story to light, forcing Ros to revisit a dark moment from her past. Ros must take a hard look not only at the father of her child, but also at her own mistakes, her own trauma, and at the supposedly liberal period she grew up in."

MY THOUGHTS

- A book of two halves/two timelines following the main characters in the late 90s to 2020s from their time at university to the present day as stories from the past come to haunt them.

- A very interesting exploration of sexual assault, and consent between the 90s and 2020s with the #MeToo movement

- I loved reading the conflicting thoughts and relationships between uni friend, wife and husband and their perceptions of assault.

- I really enjoyed the two different timelines which are pretty much the two halves of the book.

- I found the storytelling gripping and it was a brilliant page-turner of a read, it felt very much like a literary thriller.

- I am still processing the ending which felt very realistic but I still don't know what to think.

A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

felt pretty underwhelmed by this - interesting enough premise but felt like it failed to do anything super interesting

The narrative voice in this was very strong - I felt her insecurities and neuroses as though were my own, but I was also waiting for the originality of the story.

This was a clever and deeply considered novel. I enjoyed the honest narrative of the protagonist, though I do think she would be more likeable than she does and if you look hard you see her deep insecurity unfold on every page. The two parts were interesting and I was glad I had not read the blurb first (though now some of the names make sense for this reason I think),
The ending really seemed to just fizzle to a stand still and I had been waiting for something that never came but felt so much more realistic because of it,
In a novel where there were very few likeable characters it was surprising how you could buy into their narratives. I’m glad I could check out before seeing what a mess was made of Benji because the trajectory seemed like it was going to spiral on and on in generational damage and left me feeling a bit sad about that.
I gave it three stars but dithered over the fourth because at times it felt like hard work to read.